title: An evaluation of two methods used to determine the centre of gravity of a cadaver head in the sagittal plane.
abstract: A suitable method to locate the centre of gravity of the head is not available at present. Precise location of that centre will help in the understanding of aspects of cranial balance and what effect skeletal changes, following for example orthognathic surgery, may have on head posture. The objective of this research was to use a mechanical (empirical) method, based on accepted laws of physics, to determine the centres of gravity of cadaver heads in the sagittal plane and to compare these positions with those generated by a computer programme. The two methods located the centre of gravity in the same region but at a different position in each corresponding head. These differences were statistically significant (p < 0.01). It is likely that improved computer techniques together with modern three dimensional imaging methods will be able to locate the centre of gravity of a head in a living subject.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits.
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rumbak
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006112:Gravitation; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D011859:Radiography; D012984:Software